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CHAP. XXIX.

16 (For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which ye passed by;

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and exhorts the people.

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15 But with him that standeth stranger that shall come from a An. Ex. Isr. 40. here with us this day before the far land, shall say, when they see An. Ex. Isr. 40. LORD our God, and also with the plagues of that land, and the him that is not here with us this day: sicknesses which the LORD hath laid upon it;. 23 And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:

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17 And ye have seen their, abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them :)

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18 Lest there should be among you man, woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart urneth away this day from the LORD our God, go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that Deareth gall and wormwood;

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19 And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst:

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20 The LORD will not spare him, but then • the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.

21 And the LORD shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law;

22 So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the

* See Acts ii. 39; 1 Cor. vii. 14.- Lu Heb. dungy gods.- Ch. xi. 16. Acts viii. 23; Heb. xii. 15. Or, a poisonful by Heb. rosh. Num. xv. 39; Eccles. xi. 9.- Or, bbornness; Jer. iii. 17; vii. 24.- b Isa. xxx. 1.- Heb. the unken to the thirsty.d Ezek. xiv. 7, 8. Psa. lxxiv. 1. Psa. lxxix. 5; Ezek. xxiii. 25.- Chap. ix. 14.

5. The victim is separated exactly into two equal parts, the separation being in the direction of the spine; and these parts are laid opposite to each other, sufficient room being allowed for the contracting parties to pass between them. 6. The contracting parties meet in the victim, and the conditions of the covenant by which they are to be mutually bound are recited. 7. An oath is taken by these parties that they shall punctually and aithfully perform their respective conditions, and thus the covenant is made and ratified. See Jer. xxxiv. 18, 19, and the notes on Gen. vi. 18; xv. 18; Exod. xxix. 45; Lev. xxvi.

Verse 15. Him that standeth here] The present generation. Him that is not here all future generations of this people.

Verse 18. A root that beareth gall and wormwood] That is, as the apostle expresses it, Heb. iii. 12, An

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29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

b Matt. xxiv. 51. Heb. is written. k Heb. wherewith the LORD hath made it sick. Psa. cvii. 34; Jer. xvii. 6; Zeph. ii. 9. Gen. xix. 24, 25; Jer. xx. 16. 1 Kings ix. 8, 9; Jer. xxii. 8, 9.- Or, who had not given to them any portion. P Heb. divided. - Dan. ix. 11, 13, 14.—1 Kings xiv. 15; 2 Chron. vii. 20; Psa. lii. 5; Prov. ii. 22.

evil heart of unbelief departing from the living God; for to this place he evidently refers. It may also signify false doctrines, or idolatrous persons among themselves. Verse 19. To add drunkenness to thirst] A proverbial expression denoting the utmost indulgence in all sensual gratifications.

Verse 26. Gods-whom he had not given unto them] This is an unhappy translation. Houbigant renders the original words on pn velo chalak lahem, et quibuscum nulla eis societas, " And with whom they had no society;" and falls unmercifully on Le Clerc because he had translated it, From whom they had received no benefits. I must differ from both these great men, because I think they differ from the text. pn chalak signifies a portion, lot, inheritance, and God is frequently represented in Scripture as the portion or inheritance of his people. Here, therefore, I think

Gracious promises to the

DEUTERONOMY.

the original should be rendered, And there was no portion to them, that is, the gods they served could neither supply their wants nor save their souls-they were no portion.

faithful and obedient.

revealed concern not man but God alone, and are therefore not to be inquired after." Thus, then, the things that are hidden belong unto the Lord, those that are revealed belong unto us and our children. But possibly the words here refer to the subjects of these chap

all the words of this law, and so prevent the dreadful evils that shall fall on the disobedient.”

Verse 29. The secret things belong unto the Lord, &c.] This verse has been variously translated. Hou-ters, as if he had said, “Apostasy from God and his bigant renders it thus: Que apud Dominum nostrum truth is possible. When a national apostasy among us abscondita sunt, nobis ea filiisque nostris palam facta may take place, is known only to God; but he has resunt ad multas ætates, "The things which were hid-vealed himself to us and our children that we may do den with the Lord our God, are made manifest to us and our children for many generations." I am not satisfied with this interpretation, and find that the passage was not so understood by any of the ancient versions. The simple general meaning seems to be this: "What God has thought proper to reveal, he has revealed; what he has revealed is essential to the well-ulebaneynu, "to us and to our CHILDREN," in order to being of man, and this revelation is intended not for fix the attention of the reader on truths which affect the present time merely, nor for one people, but for all them individually, and not them only, but the whole succeeding generations. The things which he has not of their posterity.

THE Jews have always considered these verses as containing subjects of the highest importance to them, and have affixed marks to the original, ahi üs lanu

CHAPTER XXX.

Gracious promises are given to the penitent, 1-6. The Lord will circumcise their heart, and put all these curses on their enemies, if they hearken to his voice and keep his testimonies, 7–10. The word is near to them, and easy to be understood, 11-14. Life and death, a blessing and a curse, are set before them : and they are exhorted to love the Lord, obey his voice, and cleave unto him, that they may inherit the land promised to Abraham, 15–20.

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a it shall come to pass, and will return and gather thee when all these things are from all the nations, whither the An. Ex. Isr. 40. come upon thee, the blessing and LORD thy God hath scattered thee. the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,

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NOTES ON CHAP. XXX.

Verse 1. When all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse] So fully did God foresee the bad use these people would make of their free agency in resisting the Holy Ghost, that he speaks of their sin and punishment as certain; yet, at the same time, shows how they might turn to himself and live, even while he was pouring out his indignation upon them because of their transgressions,

4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:

5 And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.

6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love

iii. 22, 32.— - Psa. exlvii. 2; Jer. xxxii. 37; Ezek. xxxiv. 13; xxxvi. 24.5 Chap. xxviii. 64; Neh. i. 9. Chap. x. 16, Jer. xxxii. 39; Ezek. xi. 19; xxxvi. 26.

quently it is not the Babylonish captivity which is intended; and the repossession of their land must be different from that which was consequent on their return from Chaldea.

Verse 6. God will circumcise thine heart] This promise remains yet to be fulfilled, Their heart, as a people, has never yet been circumcised; nor have the various promises in this chapter been ever yet fulfilled. There remaineth, therefore, a rest for this people of God. Now, as the law, properly speaking, made no provision for the circumcision of the heart, which implies the remission of sins, and purification of the soul Verse 5. Will bring thee into the land] As this from all unrighteousness; and as circumcision itself promise refers to a return from a captivity in which was only a sign of spiritual good, consequently the they had been scattered among all nations, conse-promise here refers to the days of the Messiah, and to

Verse 3. Gather thee from all the nations] This must refer to a more extensive captivity than that which they suffered in Babylon.

Life and death are

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the LORD thy God with all thine | say, Who shall go up for us to
heaven, and bring it unto us, that An. Ex. Isr. 40.
we may hear it, and do it?

An. Ex. 1sr. 40. heart, and with all thy soul, that
thou mayest live.

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7 And the LORD thy God will put, all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.

8 And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.

9 And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:

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13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?

14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

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10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of and his judgments, that thou mayest live and the LORD thy God, to keep his command-multiply and the LORD thy God shall bless ments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.

11 For this commandment, which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. 12 m

thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. 17 But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shall be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;

18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou

It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest passest over Jordan to go to possess it. i Chap. xxviii. 11.

Chap. xxxviii. 63; Jer. xxii. 41.
Isa. xlv. 19.

Rom. x. 6, &c.

Ver. 1, 19; chap. xi. 26.- Chap. iv. 26; viii. 19.

Verse 15. Life and good] Present and future blessings.

this all the prophets and all the apostles give witness:eousness, that the tongue may make confession unto "for circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, salvation. In this way, it is evident; St. Paul underand not in the letter," Rom. ii. 29; and the genuine stood these passages; see Rom. x. 6, &c. followers of God "are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands-by the circumcision of Christ," Col. ii. 11, 12. Hence we see these pro- Death and evil Present and future miseries: termmises cannot be fulfilled to the Jews but in their em-ed, ver. 19, Life and death, blessing and cursing. And bracing the Gospel of Christ. To look, therefore, for why were these set before them? 1. That they might their restoration is idle and nugatory, while their ob- comprehend their import. 2. That they might feel stinacy and unbelief remain. their importance. 3. That they might choose life, and the path of believing, loving obedience, that led to it. 4. That they and their posterity, thus choosing life and refusing evil, might be the favourites of God in time and eternity.

Verse 12. It is not in heaven] Shall not be communicated in that way in which the prophets received the living oracles; but the wORD shall be made flesh, and dwell among you..

Verse 11. This commandment—is not hidden] Not too wonderful or difficult for thee to comprehend or perform, as the word ♫ niphleth implies. Neither is it far off-the word or doctrine of salvation shall be proclaimed in your own land; for He is to be born. Were there no such thing as free will in man, who in Bethlehem of Judah, who is to feed and save Israel; could reconcile these sayings either with sincerity or and the PROPHET who is to teach them is to be raised common sense? God has made the human will free, up from among their brethren. and there is no power or influence either in heaven, earth, or hell, except the power of God, that can deprive it of its free volitions; of its power to will and nill, to choose and refuse, to act or not act; or force it to sin against God. Hence man is accountable for his actions, because they are his; were he necessitated by fate, or sovereign constraint, they could not be his. Hence he is rewardable, hence he is punishable. God, Verse 14. But the word is very nigh unto thee] in his creation, willed that the human creature should The doctrine of salvation preached by the apostles; be free, and he formed his soul accordingly; and the in thy mouth, the promises of redemption made by the Law and Gospel, the promise and precept, the denunprophets forming a part of every Jew's creed; in thy ciation of wo and the doctrine of eternal life, are all heart-the power to believe with the heart unto right-constructed on this ground; that is, they all necessarily

Verse 13. Neither is it beyond the sea] Ye shall not be obliged to travel for it to distant nations, because salvation is of the Jews.

VOL. I.

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Moses delivers the Divine

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19 PI call heaven and earth | God, and that thou mayest obey to record this day against you, his voice, and that thou mayest An. Ex. Isr. 40. that I have set before you cleave unto him: for he is thy

life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.

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life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy P Chap. iv. 26; xxxi. 28.4 Ver. 15.- - Psa. xxvii. 1; lxvi. 9; John xi. 25.- Chap. iv. 40; xi. 9; xii. 10. suppose the freedom of the human will: nor could it | energetic, and pure while it lasts-will be ultimately be will if it were not free, because the principle of ineffectual. He alone who endures to the end, shall freedom or liberty is necessarily implied in the idea of volition. See on the fifth chapter and 29th

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be saved.

Reader, how do matters stand between God and thy soul? He cannot persevere in the grace of God whose soul is not yet made a partaker of that grace. Many talk strenuously on the impossibility of

Verse 19. See the note on the preceding verse. Verse 20. That thou mayest love the Lord] With-falling from grace, who have not yet tasted that the out love there can be no obedience:

Lord is gracious. How absurd to talk and dispute

Obey his voice] Without obedience love is fruitless about the infallibility of arriving safely at the end of a and dead.

And-cleave unto him] Without close attachment and perseverance, temporary love, however sincere and fervent-temporary obedience, however disinterested,

way in which a man has never yet taken one hearty step! It is never among those that have the grace of God, but among those that have it not, that we find an overweening confidence.

CHAPTER XXXI.

Moses, being one hundred and twenty years old and about to die, calls the people together, and exhorts them to courage and obedience, 1-6. Delivers a charge to Joshua, 7, 8: Delivers the law which he had written to the priests, with a solemn charge that they should read it every seventh year, publicly to all the people, 9-13. The Lord calls Moses and Joshua to the tabernacle, 14. He appears to them, informs Moses of his approaching death, and delivers to him a prophetical and historical song, or poem, which he is to leave with Israel, for their instruction and reproof, 15-21. Moses writes the song the same day, and teaches it to the Israelites, 22; gives Joshua a charge, 23; finishes writing the book of the law, 24. Commands the Levites to lay it up in the side of the ark, 25, 26. Predicts their rebellions, 27. Orders the elders to be gathered together, and shows them what evils would befall the people in the latter days, 28, 29, and repeats the song to them, 30.

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AND Moses went and spake before thee, as the LORD hath

these words unto all Israel. 2 And he said unto them, I am a hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in also the LORD hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

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4 f And the LORD shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites; and unto the land of them whom he destroyed.

5 And the LORD shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you.

6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear * Num. xxvii. 21; chap. iii. 28. Chap. iii. 21. Num. xxi. 24, 33.- h Chap. vii. 2.- Josh. x. 25; 1 Chron. xxii. 13. Chap. i., 29; vii. 18.

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and forty years he guided, led, and governed the Israelites under the express direction and authority of God: in all, one hundred and twenty years.

NOTES ON CHAP. XXXI. Egyptians; (see Acts vii. 20, 23;) forty years he soVerse 2. I am a hundred and twenty years old] journed in the land of Midian in a state of preparation The life of Moses, the great prophet of God and law-for his great and important mission; (Acts vii. 29, 30;) giver of the Jews, was exactly the same in length as the time Noah employed in preaching righteousness to the antediluvian world. These one hundred and twenty years were divided into three remarkable periods forty years he lived in Egypt, in Pharaoh's court, acquiring all the learning and wisdom of the 818

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Verse 3. Joshua, he shall go over before thee] See on Num/ xxvii. 17, &c. Verse 6. Be strong] pin chizku, the same word ( 53* )

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every seventh year.

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11 When all Israel is come to
appear before the LORD thy God An. Ex. Isr. 40.

in the place which he shall choose,

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thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.

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12 Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: 13 And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it. 14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation..

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15 And the LORD appeared in the taber

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Chap. xv. 1. Lev. xxiii. 34.- Chap. xvi. 16.— Josh. viii. 34, 35; 2 Kings xxiii. 2; Neh. viii. 1, 2, 3, &c.- Chap. iv. 10.--Chap. xi. 2.- Psa. lxxviii. 6, 7.—2 Num. xxvii. 13; xxxiv. 5. Ver. 23; Num. xxvii. 19.- b Exod. xxxiii. 9.

that is used Exod. iv. 21, ix. 15, for hardening Pha-copy for reference, and to be a witness against the raoh's heart. See the notes there. The Septuagint, people should they break it or become idolatrous. in this and the following verse, have, Avdpisov xai This second copy is supposed to be intended ver. 26. Loxve, Play the man, and be strong; and from this As the law was properly a covenant or contract beSt. Paul seems to have borrowed his ideas, 1 Cor.tween God and the people, it is natural to suppose xvi. 13: Στήκετε εν τη πίστει· ανδριζεσθε, κρατιούσθε : Stand firm in the faith; play the man-act like heroes; be vigorous.

Versè 8. The Lord-doth go before thee] To prepare thy way, and to direct thee.

He will be with thee] Accompany thee in all thy journeys, and assist thee in all thy enterprises.

He will not fail thee] Thy expectation, however strong and extensive, shall never be disappointed: thou canst not expect too much from him.

Neither forsake thee] He knows that without him thou canst do nothing, and therefore he will continue with thee, and in such a manner too that the excellence of the power shall appear to be of him, and not of man.

Verse 9. Moses wrote this law] Not the whole Pentateuch, but either the discourses and precepts mentioned in the preceding chapters, or the book of Deuteronomy, which is most likely.

there were two copies of it, that each of the contracting parties might have one therefore one was laid up beside the ark, this was the Lord's copy; another was given to the priests and Levites, this was the people's copy.

Verse 10, 11. At the end of every seven years— thou shalt read this law] Every seventh year was a year of release, chap. xv. 1, at which time the people's minds, being under a peculiar degree of solemnity, were better disposed to hear and profit by the words of God. I suppose on this ground also that the whole book of Deuteronomy is meant, as it alone contains an epitome of the whole Pentateuch. And in this way some of the chief Jewish rabbins understand this place,

It is strange that this commandment, relative to a public reading of the law every seven years, should have been rarely attended to. It does not appear that from the time mentioned Josh. viii. 30, at which time this public reading first took place, till the reign of Jehoshaphat, 2 Chron. xvii. 7, there was any public

Some of the rabbins have pretended that Moses wrote thirteen copies of the whole Pentateuch; that he gave one to each of the twelve tribes, and the thir-seventh year reading-a period of 530 years. Thè teenth was laid up by the ark. This opinion deserves little credit. Some think that he wrote two copies, one of which he gave to the priests and Levites for general use, according to what is said in this verse, the other to be laid up beside the ark as a standard

next seventh year reading was not till the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah, 2 Chron. xxxiv. 30, a space of two hundred and eighty-two years. Nor do we find any other publicly mentioned from this time till the return from the Babylonish captivity, Neh.

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